Composition of matter



Patented Sept. 12, 1939 UNITED STATES Cross Heierence PATENT OFFICE No Drawing. Appli cation March 10, 1937,

Serial No. 130,120

. a v M This invention relates to a composition of inatter and the method of making the sameand, more particularly, to a tooth paste or dentifrice.

It is an object of the invention to provide a composition of matter suitable for use as a dentifrice that may be marketed in the form of a paste and may contain a peroxygen compound and yet not lose any substantial amount of its oxygen or oxidizing power during storage in the pasty form. Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the detailed description that follows.

Briefly stated, the invention comprises the product resulting from and the method of form? ing an intimate mixture of the selected peroxygen compound with a viscous medium that is inert towards the said compound and is soluble in water, the preferred medium being an ester of a polyhydric alcohol of the inertness and solubility recited. The invention comprises also an alkali metal perborate, especially sodium perborate in the activated form to be described later herein.

The invention will be illustrated by the following specific examples of the making of a tooth pas e.

The peroxygen compound selected is an alkali or alkaline earth metal perborate. Of the perborates, the sodium compound is preferably selected. It is satisfactory and also relatively inexpensive as compared to the other perborates.

The peroxygen compound is intimately mixed with the vehicle.

The vehicle should be of the general properties that'have been stated above. Materials tilling well these requirements are the viscous liquid or semi-solid borates of polyhydric alcohols, such as the glycols and glycerine. I have used to special advantage the diborate of diethylene glycol, that is, the product the heating of diethylene glycol with boric acid in proportion corresponding theoretically to the amount required to react with the diglycol to produce the diester. This heating is made. suitably, in the presence of a few per cent of borax or the like on the weight of the glycol, so that the finished product contains the elements of borax. The heating accelcrates the reaction and causes the elimination of the water produced in the reaction, the vessel in which the heating is made being open or permitting otherwise the escape of water. The other polyhydric alcohols, if used, may be substituted for the diglycol in the method of eaterincation described.

For proper consistency for tooth paste, there may be used in the composition also, a diluent that is inert towards the peroxygen compound, preferably soluble in water, and soluble in the vehicle. propanol, the former being preferred because of its low cost and absence of objectionable taste. In general, the diluent should be low in viscosity, say of the order of that of ethanol, so as to reduce adequately the consistency of the paste contalning it in proportion as low as -15 to one hundred parts of the vehicle.

In addition, there may be used also other ingredients, such as flavoring ingredients, abrasives, detergents and the like. Thus a typical tooth paste made in accordance with this invention contains an intimate mixture of finely ground sodium perborate 6 parts by weight, finely divided tale 6 parts, tricalcium phosphate 6 parts, soap 8 parts, saccharine 0.25 part, diethylene glycol diborate 56 parts, and alcohol 8 parts. Suitably, the composition may contain an alkali metal borate, say 10 parts of sodium borate or borax, and also a flavoring material.

In the above formula, the calcium phosphate constitutes a part of the abrasive component.

A product so made preserves the available oxygen of the perborate substantially completely during storage, in distinction from the excessive loss of available oxygen that occurs when the medium is aqueous or contains glycerin or glycol. Furthermore, my vehicle being soluble, the paste dissolves readily when used on a moistened tooth brush. It liberates its oxygen and shows the desired oxidation potential just when needed.

For some purposes I may substitute, for the perborate described, a specially activated perborate. The perborate is activated by being maintained at an elevated temperature, for such a period of time as to greatly increase the maximum solubility of the perborate in water.

- The temperature and period of heating must be adjusted jointly for best results in the activation. For instance, I may activate the sodium perborate by heating it in pulverized form at 90 C. for about two hours, 120 for about minutes, and 150 for about 15 minutes, the heating being conducted for these periods after the initial heating required to cause a loss of three mols of water from each mol of the original perborate tetrahydrate. Temperatures as low as about C. may be used, the time of heating being correspondingly increased.

Such activation produces a remarkable eifect on the perborate. Thus, its solubility in partsofwaterat25 C.isincreasedtromabout A good diluent is anhydrous ethanol or r vated perborate, when stirred with spartstoabontlotoliparts. Also,thesctlwater, gives 0! gaseous oxygen faster than the original borate, so as to produce very rapid eiiervescence.

Other uses for the compositions described are for antiseptics or certain other purposes requiring an oxidation agent. A tooth powder, for example, may be made with the activated perborate as the oxidizing material.

While the perborates are preferred as the source of the perongen compound for my composition, there may be substituted therefor, for some purposes, a peroxide, as for example, the peroxide of sodium, strontium or barium, the former being suitable only when excessive alkalinity is not objectionable and the latter when the poisonous proper y of barium is not objectionable.

ltwillbeunderstoodthatvu'iationtromthe above illustrative details may be made and that theinyentionislimitedonlybythetermsoi'the claims.

cohol'selected from a gro co J 0 per a z 2. A tooth paste comprising an intimate mixture of sodium perborate and a freely water soluble glycol borate.

8. A tooth paste an intimatemixture of an alkali metal perborate, diethylene glycol diborate, and an anhydrous liquid diluent oi mobility of the order of that of ethanol dissolved in the said borate and lowering the viscosity thereof.

4. A tooth past comprising an intimate mixture 01 sodium perborate and a glycerine borate that is substantially inert towards the perborate and is soluble in water.

5. A tooth paste comprising an intimate mixture of sodium perborate, glycerlne triboraie. and an anhydrous liquid oi mobility of the order of that of ethanol.

6. A tooth paste comprising an intimate mixture of an alkali metal per-borate, borax, diethyl ene glycol diborate, and an anhydrous liquid diluent of mobility of the order of that of ethanol dissolved in the said borate and lowering the viscosity thereof.

7. A tooth paste, for use in the presence of water, comprising an intimate mixture or sodium perbcrate that is soluble in water to the extent of not less than 10 parts by weight to 100 parts of water at 25 C. and a viscous liquid vehicle including a large proportion of a water soluble boric acid ester of a polyhydric alcohol selected from the group consisting of the glycols and glycerine, the said ester being chemically inert towards the perborate.

THOMAS IVAN TAYLOR. 

